Discharge: Frustration Flashcards
What are the steps for frustration?
Define
Common law
Impossibility of performance
Illegality
Radical change of circumstances
Self-induced
Less profitable
Foreseeable risk
Remedies
What is discharge by frustration?
Performance and impossibility
What is the common law on frustration?
Even if it was impossible to complete, if you don’t complete it, you have breached the contract
Which case shows the common law on frustration?
Paradine v Jane
What is the equitable rule on frustration?
You aren’t liable for breach if there was an unforeseeable intervening event that prevented them from keeping the promise
Which case shows the equitable rule on frustration?
Taylor v Caldwell (impossible to perform)
What are the 3 ways a contract can be frutrated?
Impossibility of performance
Illegality of performance
Radical change of circumstances
What is the rule on impossibility of performance?
It is frustration where the subject matter becomes unavailable through no fault of the parties
Which case shows impossibility of performance?
Jackson v Union Marine Insurance
Can a contract for a service be frustrated due to illness?
Yes
Which case shows frustration of a service contract due to the unavailability of the party due to illness?
Robinson v Davison
Condor v Baron Knights
What is the rule on illegality?
It is frustration where there is a change in the law that makes performance illegal
Which case shows performance becoming illegal?
Denny, Mott & Dickinson v James Fraser
Re Shipton, Anderson and Harrison Brothers
What is the rule on a radical change of circumstances?
It is frustration if the contract is based on a particular event and this does not take place (unless it was only part of the contract)
Which case shows a radical change of circumstances?
Krell v Henry
Which case shows a radical change of circumstances not frustrating a contract because it was only part of the contract?
Herne Bay Steam Boat v Hutton
When can frustration not apply?
Self-induced frustration
The contract only becomes less profitable
The event was a foreseeable risk
What is self-induced frustration?
When the frustrating event was within the control of the party
Which case shows self-induced frustration?
Maritime National Fish v Ocean Trawlers
What is the rule on a contract becoming less profitable?
A contract becoming less profitable or a contract becoming more difficult to complete is not a reason for frustration
Which case shows a contract becoming less profitable is not frustration?
Davis Contractors v Fareham UDC
Which case shows it is not frustration if the event was a foreseeable risk?
Amalgamated Investment & Property Co Ltd v John Walker & Sons
Which Act has the remedies for frustration?
Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943
What are the remedies for frustration?
Money already paid is recoverable and money due is not payable.
Compensation is discretionary and based on quantum meruit.
Compensation may be ordered for any valuable benefit frustrated
